II. METAPHOR.
II. METAPHOR. 1. Nature of Metaphor. In the metaphor, resemblance is not formally ex¬pressed, but so emphatically implied as to affirm an identity of the objects compared. Thus Byron so vividly realized the resemblance between the swaying of a suspended ball and man's oscillation between joy and sorrow, as to identify the two in his thought in the beautiful line in which he says of man, "Thou pendulum between a smile and tear." 2. Superiority of Metaphor to Simile. It is apparent that the metaphor surpasses the simile in force. This is owing partly to its greater brevity, and partly to the higher degree of unity in metaphorical expression. Dr. Whately* points out the feebleness of the simile as compared with the meta¬phor in the following expressions : "Cromwell treated the laws with the same contempt as a man does any thing which he tramples under his feet ;" and "Crom¬well trampled the laws under his feet." He gives no explanation of the cause of the superiority of the meta¬phor. The cause seems to be, that the metaphor is brief and suggests a simple image ; while the simile is long and presents a complex image,—Cromwell, and a shadowy somebody who is trampling an unknown something under his feet. S. Metaphor Based on Analogy. Most metaphors are based on analogy, or resem blance of relations. A single illustration will suffice There is no direct resemblance between a lock in a ea nal, and a poet, yet Lowell very forcibly says of Dryden : "He was the lock that let our language down from its point of highest poetry to its level of easiest and most gentle flowing prose." The resemblance here implied is between the rela¬tion of the lock to the water level, and Dryden's rela¬tion to style. If this obvious principle were more widely understood, many a stupid criticism would be deprived of its sting. 4. Laws of Metaphor.. Some important laws for the use of metaphor are derived from the economy of interpreting power. (1) Necessity of Clearness.—Since, from the na ture of metaphor, the resemblance is merely implied, it should be easily perceived. "It would be harsh and obscure to say, the stranded vessel lay shaken by the waves,' meaning the wounded chief tossing on the bed of sickness ;' it is therefore necessary to state the resemblance." * When the case does not admit of pure metaphor, but would also have an air of clumsiness if. simile were employed, an ingenious device is to unite the two figures in the same expression. Sir Walter Scott furnishes examples of a simile explained by a series of metaphors, and a metaphor explained by a simile. He says of a morbid fancy, "— like the bat of Indian brakes, Her pinions fan the wound she makes, And soothing thus the dreamer's pain, She drinks the life.blood from the vein." "Like" introduces a comparison, and the last three lines are explanatory metaphors. Again, "They melted from the field as snow When streams are swollen, and south winds blow, Dissolves in silent dew." "Here "melted" is a metaphor, explained by the simile introduced by "as." (2) Blending Plain and Figurative Language.— Although two figures of cognate import may be thus united in the same expression, confusion results from the blending of plain and figurative language. Shake¬speare has exemplified the fault in these lines : "This precious stone set in the sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, Or as a moat defensive to a house Against the envy of less happier lands." A moat might be a useful defense against an army, but would not be a protection against envy. (3) Mixing Metaphors.—The mixing of metaphors is a common but gross fault, as when the excited advo¬cate exclaimed : "I smell a mouse ; it is floating in the air ; but we will nip it in the bud." This fault is pointed out with a refinement of sarcasm in the fol¬lowing passage of the "Rehearsal :" "Physician.—Sir, to conclude, the place you fill has more than amply exacted the talents of a wary pilot ; and all these threatening storms, which, like impreg¬nate clouds, hover o'er our heads, will, when they are but grasped by the eye of reason, melt into fruitful showers of blessing on the people. Bayes.—Pray, mark that allegory. Is not that good ? Johnson.—Yes, that grasping of a storm with the eye is admirable 1" (4) Straining Metaphors.—A metaphor loses its value as an aid to interpretation if it is strained beyond its clear and natural application. This is so obvious as not to require illustration. (5) Concrete lietaphcre.—The metaphor is most useful when it embodies the abstract, intangible, or intellectual in the similitude of the concrete, visible, and material. The whole vocabulary of spiritual and moral discourse is derived from roots primarily signifi¬cant of physical phenomena. As an example of the exhaustless fund of illustration to be found in the re¬lations of material things, observe how two widely dif¬ferent notions have been expressed under the similitude of refraction. Burke furnishes the first case : "These metaphysic rights entering into common life, like rays of light which pierce into a dense medi¬um, are by the laws of nature refracted from their straight line. Indeed, in the gross and complicated mass of human passions and concerns, the primitive rights of man undergo such a variety of refractions and reflections, that it becomes absurd to talk of them as if they continued in the simplicity of their original direction." Here is another use of the laws of refraction by Herbert Spencer : . "The white light of truth, in traversing the many¬sided soul of the poet, is refracted into iris-hued poetry." 5. The Value of Metaphor. The skillful use of metaphor is the secret charm of many a famous pen. It not only lends grace and at¬tractiveness to style through images of beauty, but it also economizes interpreting power. If metaphors were merely ornaments, as many rhetorical writers seem to regard them, they would have no more place in a composition than gold jewels would have in the nose of a philosopher. They might be admired by the un¬tutored barbarian ; but to writers of sense and refine. ment they would be tokens of an unnatural taste. Bu* metaphors offer the richest mine in which genius may seek for unappropriated treasure. Its treasures are absolutely inexhaustible. The resemblances of ratios have no limits which finite faculties can ever reach. They lie all about us, in every department of creation, from the flower to the star. The dull soul does not perceive them until genius spreads them before us in their beauty and freshness. When America's Milton and Shakespeare come, they will not go with the penny¬a-liners to Homer and Virgil for their imagery, but to the hidden quarries of nature, and from their intermin¬able depths they will bring materials for castles of diotien as grand as the old-time structures from which otheis steal the moss-grown stones.